25 YEARS OF THE BMW GS

Munich. It was an inspired concept, and BMW is still capitalising on it to this
day. In September 1980, the launch of the latest BMW two-wheeler revealed a
fully-fledged motorcycle with a classic flat-twin Boxer engine, yet it was very
different from any BMW that had gone before. The new model stood tall and was
distinguished by a lighter tail end and larger front wheel than roadgoing
machines. And there was one bit that was missing entirely: instead of the
conventional double-arm suspension, the rear wheel for the first time featured
a compact and innovative single swing-arm by the name of "Monolever". The R 80
G/S had created a new breed of endurance tourers, with the "G" in its name
standing for "Gelände" (terrain) and the "S" for "Strasse" (road).

The decision in favour of the G/S was as bold as it was far-sighted. It had
been made in 1978 during a period of decline in sales following almost a decade
of growth. Across the Atlantic, endurance motorcycles - which were also popular
among road bikers due to their easy handling - were riding on a wave of success.

Technically BMW could easily match this. Back in the 1930s, the Munich brand
had made a name for itself in sporting competitions aiming for best times on
gravel and in mud. During the 1950s and '60s, BMW riders raked in one title
after another. The last three championship titles in cross-country sport had
been taken by Herbert Schek on a modified BMW R 75/5 between 1970 and 1972.

However, direct competition to the dominant single-cylinder motorcycles made by
manufacturers in the Far East did not accord with BMW's plans for the volume
production market. A BMW had to be different: the characteristic attributes of
comfort, long-distance viability and longevity were indispensable. And so the
idea gradually gelled that offroad suitability should be combined with high
performance and ride comfort on the road. A careful study of the Enduro market
corroborated this plan: only two percent of the kilometres covered were
actually ridden across difficult terrain, while the remaining 98 percent was on
roads, unsurfaced tracks or narrow paths. And so the idea of the large,
comfortable endurance bike was born. It opened up a gap in the market which has
remained almost inexhaustible to this day.

Such was the case from the very start. When the R 80G/S was unveiled before the
public at the 1980 IFMA (international motorcycle show), the BMW stand was
thronged with crowds. The enthusiastic reception at the exhibition stand was
reflected in orders for the coming motorcycle season: by the end of 1981, 6,631
motorcycles - more than twice the volume originally planned - had left the
Berlin workshops, and one in five BMWs sold was a G/S. The touring Enduro thus
played a significant role in pushing BMW'S sales figures steadily upwards once
again.

In parallel with that, BMW strengthened its involvement in cross-country sport.
The stage for this was the world's most challenging and high-publicity offroad
event, the Paris-Dakar Rally. In 1981 Hubert Auriol was first to reach the
destination on his G/S Dakar, and in 1983 he managed to repeat his overall win
for BMW. 1984 and 1985 saw Belgian rider Gaston Rahier take the Dakar title
before BMW withdrew its works team in 1986.

The successes of the G/S in the world's toughest rally paved the way for the
Boxer's career as a dependable means of transport for globetrotters. The choice
of appropriate accessories ranged from bigger fuel tanks made of every
imaginable material, to luggage and navigation systems, all the way to special
protective guards - a tradition upheld to this day.

1987 saw the BMW Enduro enter its second generation: R 80 GS and R 100 GS were
the names given to the successor model, the oblique in the model designation
having been deleted. Once again it was the frame that was the focus of further
development. Thanks to a new rear wheel swing-arm by the name of Paralever,
undesirable reactions particularly on off-road terrain were further reduced.

In 1993 the R 1100 GS caused a sensation at the Frankfurt Motor Show with its
bold styling and imposing dimensions - compared with the R 100 GS the new bike
was 65 mm taller. 80 bhp took the cross-country machine to a generous top speed
of 200 km/h. Ensuring that such speeds could also be translated to the road
with ease was the frame with its improved Paralever on the rear axle and the
new Telelever front suspension. This was followed in autumn of 1999 by the R
1150 GS and in 2004 by the R 1200 GS.

Today, a quarter of a century and some 220.000 units later, it is patently
clear that BMW Motorrad created a class of its own with the GS. The recently
launched BMW HP2 proves that the Munich manufacturers never fail to come up
with appealing models that position the GS concept ahead of the competition:
consistently designed with sportiness in mind, the HP2 weighs in at just 175 kg
and comes with a 1.2-litre Boxer engine that is good for 105 bhp. The frame is
an all-new development with a telescopic fork at the front and a Paralever at
the rear. All told, the HP2 is the most uncompromising production offroad Boxer
of all time. And again it is the first model of a new motorcycle category.

Please find a detailed text on the history of the GS as well as a number of
high-resolution pictures on www.press.bmwgroup.com.